The Turbhe Pattern: A comprehensive contact tracing being undertaken by NMMC in Maharashtra

As the fight against the coronavirus pandemic grows bigger - new ways are emerging to combat the deadly virus.

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The Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC) in Thane district has come out with comprehensive contact tracing that is being now described as Turbhe Pattern.

The success story of the Turbhe Pattern is being replicated elsewhere in the satellite township of Navi Mumbai.

Turbhe is located on the Thane-Belapur Road - and areas like Turbhe Stores, Pawne Gaon, Indira Nagar and parts of Sanpada were badly affected.

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The Turbhe Stores came under the Red-zone and the NMMC's municipal commissioner Annasaheb Misal took the decision for extensive contact tracing to break the chain.

"As soon as a Covid-19 patient is diagnosed, at least 28 close contacts were traced and their health condition was examined. And if needed they were quarantined," NMMC officials said, adding that special officers took update and monitor the progress.

The contact tracing - depending on the history of the patient - has to be done within 72 hours.

The Navi Mumbai civic administration is implementing the same pattern in the rest of the city. "It will help curb the growing prevalence of Covid-19 in the city," said Misal.
"The process of contact tracing will be completed within 72 hours, as, the sooner a person with symptoms is found and treatment is begun, the sooner the Coronavirus chain can be broken," officials said.

Meanwhile, prior to the announcement of a 10-day lockdown in the entire NMMC area on July 3, a seven-day lockdown had already been declared in 12 special containment zones from 29 June onwards, where a large number of cases were found. During this period, door-to-door mass screening campaigns were conducted in those 12 zones and more than one lakh citizens underwent testing and suspects were isolated.